Borstad Associates Ltd. - Aquatic Environments

Borstad Associates Ltd. has long had a focus on marine, freswater, and coastal applications of aerial and satellite remote sensing. We have developed the methods to use image maps of sea surface temperature, sediment concentration, sea ice, oceanographic fronts, and other features to describe the ocean environment. We have undertaken many fisheries and oceans related projects including mapping of fish schools, marine mammals, and phytoplankton blooms. Check out our Satellite Image Portal for many free real time chlorophyll image products for the Canadian West Coast, and the North West Hemisphere!

Maps of Coastal Vegetation from Airborne Multispectral Imagery

All objects and materials reflect, transmit and absorb incident light selectively at different wavelengths and hence exhibit a characteristic colour to the human eye. The colour of plants tells us a great deal about them, including their taxonomic class, and physiological status. Because of this, multi-spectral satellite imagery has been used very successfully to map vegetation of all types for many years. However, the limited spatial resolution and the long orbital cycle of the current suite of satellite sensors do not allow them to provide imagery often enough or with enough detail to be useful in most coastal zones. It is practically impossible to obtain cloud-free satellite data during a low tide window. For this reason, airborne instruments such as our Compact Airborne Spectrographic Imager (CASI) are the sensor of choice. We have undertaken many projects related to habitat inventory

	Multispectral Imaging of the Coastal Zone near Tampa, Florida Multispectral classification of submersed vegetation and bottom types for Apollo Bay, Florida.
	Mapping Intertidal Habitat in Prince Rupert Harbour Multispectral classification of kelp and eelgrass beds, sandflats and intertidal vegetation of Prince Rupert Harbour and vicinity.
	Mapping Kelp Beds off the British Columbia Coast Thematic map of kelp beds off the British Columbia coast near Nootka Sound created with multispectral aerial imagery.

Mapping Coral Reefs and Lagoons

	Mauritius and Rodrigues Thematic map of corals, seagrasses, sand and black volcanic rock, using multispectral classification techniques.
	Cayos Arcas and Triángulos Data acquisition over Cayos Arcas and Cayos Triángulos in support of multispectral characterization studies.
	La Réunion (in French) Etude de le récif coralline de la Saline à l'Ile de la Réunion par télédétection multibande.
	Parguera, Puerto Rico Multispectral classification of the coral reefs and shoreline vegetation between Parguera and Bahía Fosforescente.

Other Coastal Management Related Papers

Maps of Intertidal Vegetation from Airborne Multispectral Imagery

Mapping Wetland Vegetation in the Fraser River Delta

Iintertidal Habitat in Terra Nova National Park

Mapping a Texas Coastal Lagoon with Airborne Multispectral Imaging

Mapping Near Surface Fish Schools

	Distribution of Atlantic Capelin in Shallow Waters of Trinity Bay, Newfoundland This image of a massive school of Atlantic capelin (Mallotus villosus) during spawning was acquired from a small aircraft with our multispectral CASI, and was enhanced to better depict the school. The white specks visible in the imagery are sea birds feeding on the capelin schools.
	Mapping Forage-fish Schools in Prince William Sound, Alaska Multispectral aerial image of Pacific herring (Clupea harengus pallasi) and sandlance (Ammodytes hexapterus). Sea birds are observed as white spots in the image.

Imaging of Marine Mammals

	Very High Spatial Resolution Digital Imaging of Marine Mammals This image of harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) near the Magdalen Islands, Quebec, was captured using Borstad Associates Panchromatic Line Scan camera (PAN).
	Remote Sensing in Support of Bowhead Whale Surveys in the Beaufort Sea The image shows AVHRR derived apparent sea surface temperature, the whale's path (black line) and field recorded positions (red crosses).

Mapping Phytoplankton Blooms

	Quantitative Chlorophyll Maps Quantitative image of phytoplankton chlorophyll concentration produced from bands measuring solar stimulated fluorescence. The small rings are salmon pens.
	Mapping Phytoplankton Chlorophyll using FLH This image illustrates a phytoplankton bloom in Barkley Sound, British Columbia, mapped using the FLH technique.
	Simulation of a MERIS FLH Product A simulated MERIS FLH product - surface chlorophyll concentration in the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario.
	Mapping Algal Blooms in Dniper River, Ukraine Examination of water quality in the Dnieper river, Ukraine, using satellite imagery from the Landsat Thematic Mapper. An algal scum is visible as bright green in the river and red in the chlorophyll map (inset).
	Phytoplankton Chlorophyll Patterns 1 km resolution CZCS imagery of Vancouver Island (BC, Canada), before the major El Niño warming event of 1982-83.

Ice Tracking

Study of Ice Pack Motion

Ice motion vectors are calculated using daily weather satellite imagery.